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[Q] 119.99 at Amazon.com

Just wondering if there were any downsides to upgrading to the G2x through amazon.com for $119.99? You can do an individual or family line upgrade.

I just bought from Amazon and returned it. The upside is that the price is low and you have a 30 day return period. The down side, IMO, is that you have to hold on to the line and phone for 6 months or pay $250. This meant that, in the next 6 months, I couldn't give my wife the G2x for her line and then get the Sensation, SGII, etc. for my line without being charged the $250. I could deal with breaking the contract if I had / wanted to do so, however, I didn't want any additional financial constraints. Just my .02¢
HTH

azsl1326 said:
I just bought from Amazon and returned it. The upside is that the price is low and you have a 30 day return period. The down side, IMO, is that you have to hold on to the line and phone for 6 months or pay $250. This meant that, in the next 6 months, I couldn't give my wife the G2x for her line and then get the Sensation, SGII, etc. for my line without being charged the $250. I could deal with breaking the contract if I had / wanted to do so, however, I didn't want any additional financial constraints. Just my .02¢
HTH
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how would Amazon know that you gave it to your wife? And how would they know you are using a different device on your line if you just do a sim switch? do they have access to that carrier data?

also, does this mean you can upgrade phones every 6 months from amazon for their subsidized price?

jtroye32 said:
also, does this mean you can upgrade phones every 6 months from amazon for their subsidized price?
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I don't believe so! They still have to go through T-Mobile to upgrade or activate new line!
So if you don't quality or you already did an upgrade then I'm guessing they'll turn you down!
But I could be wrong, I guess someone needs to read the fine print and let us know!
..........

azsl1326 said:
I just bought from Amazon and returned it. The upside is that the price is low and you have a 30 day return period. The down side, IMO, is that you have to hold on to the line and phone for 6 months or pay $250. This meant that, in the next 6 months, I couldn't give my wife the G2x for her line and then get the Sensation, SGII, etc. for my line without being charged the $250. I could deal with breaking the contract if I had / wanted to do so, however, I didn't want any additional financial constraints. Just my .02¢
HTH
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This is incorrect. Amazon only stipulates that the line upgraded/opened/added must remain active for at least 6 months. There is absolutely nothing stopping you from swapping phones on that line, you just can't close the line/account before the 6 months are up. Unless you plan on jumping ship from Tmo before then, this shouldn't be a problem.
I used amazon for my G2X and their service is awesome. First phone suffered from reboots/lockups so I called them and they overnighted a replacement with return postage for the broken phone at absolutely no charge and no questions asked.

brianbrain said:
...There is absolutely nothing stopping you from swapping phones on that line, you just can't close the line/account before the 6 months are up...
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Well, that's not what I was told by the Amazon representative. I flat out told them that is what I was going to do...swap phones on that line and they told me I could not do it without being charged. Whether or not the rep was right or wrong, I do not know. I just knew that there was a high probability that I would be either swapping phones and/or bailing on the contract so I didn't want to get caught with any extra fees.
As for the service from Amazon, they were great and very responsive.

Here's the exact verbiage from Amazon's site:
When you purchase your device with service from AmazonWireless.com, we automatically pass along an instant discount from the carrier to you. This discount has been provided to you based on your agreement to (a) activate a new, or extend an existing, line of service for this device with the carrier, and (b) maintain this service in good standing for a minimum of 181 consecutive days. If you do not activate or extend a line of service in connection with this device, or if your service is canceled/disconnected before 181 consecutive days, AmazonWireless.com will charge you $250 per device, plus applicable taxes.
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Looks like I might have been misinformed, but would have still sent it back.
HTH

Early Upgrade? (o2 UK)

Hi Forum,
I just smashed my HD2 by dropping it on a concrete floor when getting out of my car. Dumbass. I was wondering, I am 15 or 16 months into a 24 month contract with o2 in the UK (via CarphoneWarehouse), do you think that they would allow me to get an early upgrade? I was thinking about bartering with them and trying to get what is essentially an 18 month contract, but locked into 24 months to make up the 6ish months I have left on my remaining contract.
Has anyone ever haggled with them, to any success? I have got insurance through my bank as part of a Current Account Plus but as I've claimed on it before it'll cost me £50 excess and it took several months to get my phone back.
I'm paying nearly £40 per month, so I'm not a 'penny-punter' but appreciate I'm not on the world's largest contract either.
Maybe if I took o2's own mobile phone insurance too, this could help sweeten the deal for them. I don't know. I'm really at a loss without a working phone and although my phone does work, it's really difficult to see through the almost shattered screen.
Kind regards.

ThinkTankInk said:
Has anyone ever haggled with them, to any success? I have got insurance through my bank as part of a Current Account Plus but as I've claimed on it before it'll cost me £50 excess and it took several months to get my phone back.
I'm paying nearly £40 per month, so I'm not a 'penny-punter' but appreciate I'm not on the world's largest contract either.
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Sorry I'm a little off topic here...
1. You guys in the UK can get insurance if you break your phone through the bank?!
2. Penny punter? lol what does that mean
I'm sure you can work something out with them. In Canada (which has a greedy telecom industry) stuff like that always happens and it's not the end of the world. In my experience it's more who will serve you than company policy. Don't sweat it too much.

Yeah, because I got what's called a Current Account Plus. I pay my bank £5 a month and I get a £300 interest free overdraft (which I am in a lot!), free mobile phone insurance which usually costs around £12-£24 a month and various other bits and pieces I'm not bothered about.
Also, a penny-punter is a term used in the betting industry. I work in a betting shop. It's someone that comes in a bets pennies per race (50p, 25p etc.) rather than pounds. You have to treat them the same as you would someone that was whacking £10,000 on a quadriplegic donkey. In short: a cheapskate.
Gonna give o2 a call when they wake up at 8am this morning and see what can be done. I'll post my results. I sincerely hope that they're feeling generous.

Update: o2 and Carphone Warehouse stonewalled me. Basically said that I should have taken *their* phone insurance (for £24 a month!) and now I'm stuck with a broken phone and eight months left on my contract.
O2 did say I could lower my contract to £26ish per month, however. Then, once I had been on my new tariff for a month I could buy out my contract at the new price. But that's still around £180.
I have about £150 for rainy days, and it is indeed looking very gloomy, so I think I am going to put that towards a phone that'll keep me going until January and then get something new, shiny and soon-to-be-obsolete-in-another-six-months-time handset.

I'm really sorry to hear that. Sounds like that place is playing with the rules...
Would you be interested in a blackberry pearl flip? I know it s blasphemy talking about a BB here but I'm willing to send it free of charge (i would ask you to pay shipping though). I will check for it when I get home.
Sent from my Samsung Galaxy S Captivate powered by Serendipity 7

I really appreciate the offer. It's much more generous than I was ever anticipating, but I am going to decline. Sorry to sound ungrateful but I am really needing a phone with a large display and gaming capabilities, because I work evenings and Sundays. My phone is the only source of relieving boredom.
Again, I really do appreciate the offer though! Thank you.

No worries! Good luck on your search.
Sent from my Samsung Galaxy S Captivate powered by Serendipity 7

d_gritza said:
Sorry I'm a little off topic here...
1. You guys in the UK can get insurance if you break your phone through the bank?!
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It's swings and roundabouts.
With a bank account policy the premium is normally lower, but the excess can be higher and it's often not new for old.
With my O2 insurance it's £10 a month, £28 excess for any claim and I get a new phone the next working day.
I looked at the benefits from the £5 a month account Barclays are offering and other than the insurance for mobiles none of the benefits were of any use to me so I declined and stuck with my O2 insurance.

If I knew o2's was a tenner I would have gotten it myself. I'm sure they quoted 24 quid per month though which is why I declined. That is extortionate.
Sent from my HD2 pretwnding to be a Nexus One using XDA Premium App (now with limited edition cracked screen!)

ThinkTankInk said:
If I knew o2's was a tenner I would have gotten it myself. I'm sure they quoted 24 quid per month though which is why I declined. That is extortionate.
Sent from my HD2 pretwnding to be a Nexus One using XDA Premium App (now with limited edition cracked screen!)
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Blimey £24 I'd refuse to pay too!
http://www.o2.co.uk/support/generalhelp/howdoi/insurance
For basic phones it's £7.50 a month, high end phones it's £10 a month and iPhones it's £10 or £15 depending on model.
Excess is £25 or from £50 for iPhones.
I was getting confused between claims, the £28 and next day delivery was through CPW with my HD.
HD2 was £25 and I think a week or 10 days, and I had to hand over the damaged handset to the courier.

Once I get my new phone, I'm going to call O2 and see if they'll hook me up. As the phone will be 'third party' though, I'll probably just stick with what I have and then get it when I get a new contract in Jan/Feb.

Mobile Insurance going up $2 bucks

Just got a thing from my mobile insurance effective October 4th 2011 will go from $4.99 to $6.99 a month... additionally Tier 2 deductibles ($125) will move to tier 3 ($199)............... but if you in-roll in their new "special offer" plan of $9.99 that normally goes for $15.99 I can save $5.99 .....whoopty doo ! bend over
I paid 100 bucks for Inspire but if anything happens I can get a used one for $125 .... oh wait now it will cost me $199 Yay ummm yeah
I'm better off taking 10 bucks a month and putting it on the side
not to mention my car insurance went up 20 bucks for the Hurrican season lol I give up

SuicideMyk said:
Just got a thing from my mobile insurance effective October 4th 2011 will go from $4.99 to $6.99 a month... additionally Tier 2 deductibles ($125) will move to tier 3 ($199)............... but if you in-roll in their new "special offer" plan of $9.99 that normally goes for $15.99 I can save $5.99 .....whoopty doo ! bend over
I paid 100 bucks for Inspire but if anything happens I can get a used one for $125 .... oh wait now it will cost me $199 Yay ummm yeah
I'm better off taking 10 bucks a month and putting it on the side
not to mention my car insurance went up 20 bucks for the Hurrican season lol I give up
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Haha. Yeah bend over and no kiss first lol. I'm with ya. Ill be setting aside the cash.
Sent from my Inspire 4G using XDA Premium App

Stuff like this is why I don't like AT&T. Fortunately I got my insurance through Radioshack instead of them though.

SuicideMyk said:
Just got a thing from my mobile insurance effective October 4th 2011 will go from $4.99 to $6.99 a month... additionally Tier 2 deductibles ($125) will move to tier 3 ($199)............... but if you in-roll in their new "special offer" plan of $9.99 that normally goes for $15.99 I can save $5.99 .....whoopty doo ! bend over
I paid 100 bucks for Inspire but if anything happens I can get a used one for $125 .... oh wait now it will cost me $199 Yay ummm yeah
I'm better off taking 10 bucks a month and putting it on the side
not to mention my car insurance went up 20 bucks for the Hurrican season lol I give up
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My Documentation on this subject said that the inspire was not a Tier two Item. So it did not get moved to the tier three. You sure you didn't miss that part? The infuse and newer were the moved tier ones.

tweaked said:
My Documentation on this subject said that the inspire was not a Tier two Item. So it did not get moved to the tier three. You sure you didn't miss that part? The infuse and newer were the moved tier ones.
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ah your right the Infuse 4g looked like Inspire 4g when i was reading through, must be my eyes or my drink lol
where does it say Inspire was not a tier two ? I thought when I signed up it said tier two for inspire 4g ?
I got the hard pamphlet in the mail...
either way I'm not happy lol

SuicideMyk said:
ah your right the Infuse 4g looked like Inspire 4g when i was reading through, must be my eyes or my drink lol
where does it say Inspire was not a tier two ? I thought when I signed up it said tier two for inspire 4g ?
I got the hard pamphlet in the mail...
either way I'm not happy lol
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I threw it out after cursing ATT a blue streak. But I could have sworn it lists the Items that are in the tier that is moving, (Which is why i remember the infuse being one of the ones). I was like! Yes Inspire not considered tier two, wait, what, i own an old and busted...... lol

Lol, no surprise AT&T wants to rape you for more money.

I just called them. Inspire is getting bumped to $6.99 per month but the deductible will remain at $125. I recorded the conversation so if they try to bs it will be awesome.
Sent from my Inspire 4G using XDA Premium App

My last few phones were bought outside of ATT. They were purchased from Canada and Australia. Since HTC doesn't warranty outside of retailing country I bought my own warranty from CPS (consumer priority service) from Networkingrus.com. They are a dealer.
http://www.networkingrus.com/Products-WARRANTIES_ACCIDENTAL.html
Cost me under a $100 for a 2 year accidental plan (for a $750 phone). $100/24 months = $4.16 a month. My deductable is only $25. It is the money I have to send them for return shipping. I just call it my deductable. A phone under $500 is only $63 for 2 years. I have used the warranty 3 times now. Phone is usually returned 2 to 3 weeks from the day I send it in. And their repairs are top notch. Twice my phone was pretty bad but they managed to repair it. Haven't sent them a non repairable phone yet to see what they offer.

Agoattamer said:
My last few phones were bought outside of ATT. They were purchased from Canada and Australia. Since HTC doesn't warranty outside of retailing country I bought my own warranty from CPS (consumer priority service) from Networkingrus.com. They are a dealer.
http://www.networkingrus.com/Products-WARRANTIES_ACCIDENTAL.html
Cost me under a $100 for a 2 year accidental plan (for a $750 phone). $100/24 months = $4.16 a month. My deductable is only $25. It is the money I have to send them for return shipping. I just call it my deductable. A phone under $500 is only $63 for 2 years. I have used the warranty 3 times now. Phone is usually returned 2 to 3 weeks from the day I send it in. And their repairs are top notch. Twice my phone was pretty bad but they managed to repair it. Haven't sent them a non repairable phone yet to see what they offer.
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nice I'll have to check them out

Cost increase
I think this is another ploy to force and encourage people to go with the more expensive plans. Of course, I will be dropping the insurance all together - especially since I am about to be due for early upgrade which will make getting a new phone cheaper than replacing an older one. I noticed most of the phones with a $199 deductible are phones that are very prone to screen cracking (esp the Iphone but other forums reference the other phones as well) and/or are the more expensive phones to buy outright. AT&T probably lost too much money in insurance replacement costs.
I will check out the one site listed here for phone insurance. If I upgrade soon it might come in handy with the AT&T hijack of insurance costs.

I was considering enrolling, but not now! I didn't think 4.99 was a good deal, and they're going up . Maybe it wouldn't be so bad if there wasn't a deductible (or less expensive one) and you weren't getting a freakin' refurbished device . I've gotten a replacement once in the past (with a "dumb" phone) and it was noticeably used/refurbished. I thought, "never again." Well, definitely not now that this could happen.
What is it with the carriers increasingly gouging customers?? It's getting worse, and will continue to if the merger is approved. I'm all for better service, but the state of affairs will continue to become worse for consumers as carriers have less and less incentive to innovate pricing and packaging. If only we had two more T-Mobile-like carriers (in addition to T-Mobile hanging around). Things would be alright.

T-mobile is not hanging around because they are in the red. They have run in the red the last couple years. I guess cheap plans, low priced phones, and warranties have done them in. And compared to European carriers, US carries seem to be cheaper anyways.

Used Phone Prices Make No Sense...to me

With new phone prices without a contract around $500 and upgrade prices for the hot models running $99-250, I was thinking maybe I should shop recent used, i.e. an Incredible 2 or even a Galaxy Nexus or RAZR now that the Maxx is out. So checking eBay and Craigslist, and various forum marketplaces I am seeing that used pricing runs from $100-$300 on the Inc2 to $300-$500 on the Nexus and RAZR.
My son just got an Inc 2 upgrade for free. Why would anyone pay $100-$300 (widely asked) for a free phone? I might pay $50 to play with it. Why would anyone pay $400 for a used Nexus or RAZR when you can upgrade for $199 or $249 (less with a new account). I would pay $100, OK, but why pay more than the upgrade price? I understand the desire to avoid a contract, but seriously you have to get service from somewhere. I can't believe that many of the people selling these things paid full retail, so how can the used prices be more than most people paid in the first place. There can't be that much demand and the supply increases daily.
Please explain.

Some people have just upgraded recently and can't do a new contract before their two years is up without paying a pretty decent fee. It's cheaper to buy the phone from someone else and maybe get rid of their old phone than to pay the price for getting a new contract. Some people here also own multiple devices and switch them out often, so it doesn't really make sense to open a new contract for each phone. Check people's sigs: some members/devs here have four or five devices at a time.
And just in case you don't know why there's a charge for early upgrades, the carriers give you the phones at discount because over a two year contract you will end up paying down the expense they took. If they give you a new phone every six months you have gone through around $2000 worth of devices and they certainly won't make that up just from your monthly bill.

danam said:
With new phone prices without a contract around $500 and upgrade prices for the hot models running $99-250, I was thinking maybe I should shop recent used, i.e. an Incredible 2 or even a Galaxy Nexus or RAZR now that the Maxx is out. So checking eBay and Craigslist, and various forum marketplaces I am seeing that used pricing runs from $100-$300 on the Inc2 to $300-$500 on the Nexus and RAZR.
My son just got an Inc 2 upgrade for free. Why would anyone pay $100-$300 (widely asked) for a free phone? I might pay $50 to play with it. Why would anyone pay $400 for a used Nexus or RAZR when you can upgrade for $199 or $249 (less with a new account). I would pay $100, OK, but why pay more than the upgrade price? I understand the desire to avoid a contract, but seriously you have to get service from somewhere. I can't believe that many of the people selling these things paid full retail, so how can the used prices be more than most people paid in the first place. There can't be that much demand and the supply increases daily.
Please explain.
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It is all in being eligible for an upgrade!!! People who break, drop in toilet, or lose their phone are the ones paying. They had a new phone and liked it. But they broke it and aren't eligible for an upgrade price for another two years. They would have to pay full price. A used phone at $250 is better than paying $500 from the provider since you have no upgrade options.
I like it. My last two upgrades I have made money!!!! I had an original droid. I upgraded to my droid X for $299. $100 rebate brings cost down to $200. Sold for $250 on ebay!!! Old droid would have cost someone $400 from verizon if they weren't eligible for an upgrade. They have the phone they want and saved $150 versus buying a new one from verizon.

85gallon said:
I like it. My last two upgrades I have made money!!!! I had an original droid. I upgraded to my droid X for $299. $100 rebate brings cost down to $200. Sold for $250 on ebay!!! Old droid would have cost someone $400 from verizon if they weren't eligible for an upgrade. They have the phone they want and saved $150 versus buying a new one from verizon.
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I understand why it works for the seller . But this sort of presumes that more people are dropping phones in toilets than are buying new phones and retiring old ones, and I am not sure that can be so. Alternatively, it assumes that a real lot of people want to upgrade in less than two years and are willing to pay hundreds for the privilege; and I am not sure that can be so either.
I guess that I am cheap. But if I am entitled to pay, say, $199 in 3-6 months I am not paying more now for used equipment.

Some carriers give a cheaper monthly rate if you own your phone. I always buy phones outright either new or used and save money overall.
Sent from HTC G2

Crashdamage said:
Some carriers give a cheaper monthly rate if you own your phone. I always buy phones outright either new or used and save money overall.
Sent from HTC G2
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nothing is free.
My phone cost me £120 new which came with a PAYG sim.
My contract sim only is £13 a month.
I could have got the same phone on contract for £35 a month.
So I would be paying an extra £22 a month on a 18 month contract, after 5-6 months I would have been payiing more for the phone and be out of pocket. The contracts where the phones seem free have you paying for the phone monthly instead.

danam said:
I guess that I am cheap. But if I am entitled to pay, say, $199 in 3-6 months I am not paying more now for used equipment.
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What are you going to do? Pay $50 on a throw away so you have a phone for the next 3-6 months or just go without a phone for that time?
Also, a lot of people don't realize that their old cell phones are worth something. They throw them in a drawer or the garbage or they recycle them so they can feel good. I hope they never find out!!
I will be getting a free RAZR in a few months!!! After rebates and ebay of course!!
I was actually digging through some old stuff a few months ago and I ran across an old Moto Z6TV that I forgot to put up on ebay when I retired it years ago. I put it up on ebay and got $40 for it. I think it was3 or 4 phones ago. And I let the prospective buyers know it would be needing a battery soon in the auction listing.
Peeps need them for something. Maybe they know something I don't and are stocking up for the Zombie apocalypse. Who knows. I don't care as long as they are buying!!

Not everybody wants a contract. You can get a contract and pay $1k-$2k over the course of 2 years for a "free" phone or you can get a significantly cheaper pay as you go service and pay $200 for an unlocked phone.

I do business on CL all the time. This time of year is notorious for high-priced phones. If you wait until spring and summer really hits, phones will be available left and right.
Usually CDMA phones are cheaper as well, so if you look around daily, you'll find a good deal.
Sent from my 2ghz Impulse 4G

Depends on the financial status of the person to go for used phone or a new contract phone

In the past two years I've gone through 5 android phones and saved a ton of money giving the phones down to my wife and mom and never have to sign a new contract. Currently my wife has an Iphone, my mom a nexus s 4g, and I traded my android phone for an Iphone 4s...I'm going to sell that 4s and get a white Epic 4G Touch for 350 tonight, the Iphone should sell for a decent amount, I'm not out to gouge anyone but the Iphone holds value well (I hated the iPhone or I'd keep it but I miss android)

Well let me explain how it makes sense. Here's my actual history:
Buy an HTC Touch Diamond for $125 close to when it came out on some weird contract thing.
Sold Diamond for $200, bought iPhone 3G when moved to tmobile for $250, did a few other deals in between, but ended up trading the iPhone 3G for an HD2 when HD2 came out on tmobile. Sold HD2 for $250 a couple months ago, and moved to ATT and got a Galaxy Note on Contract (thru a friend $10 add a line) for $300 (soon to be $150 back for the promo), for all the deals I did between there I probably netted a few hundred dollar profit, bought and sold tablets as well (used most of them, I'm not trying to be a businessman here). You get to try out a bunch of devices this way.
If you take care of them, the resale is worth the original purchase. If you bought a Galaxy Nexus unlocked for $650 like 6 months ago, you could probably sell it RIGHT NOW for $650 easy if you took damn good care of it.
It's just how it works, you're not really out that much money if you're smart about how you do it, I've dropped $400 on devices and stuff and used/resold etc...

I agree with the general idea of the thread, some used phones are too much IMO.

There is a reason people are paying the used phone prices and I'm willing to bet they checked their options before dishing out a few hundred dollars.
We all get that most providers essentially mortgage you a device through your plan but if you don't fall under their qualifications to upgrade then your about to realize how much these little gadgets actually retail for. If you can upgrade through your provider that's your best bet. If not the used market is probably your go to option.
Sent from my Galaxy S2

eplote was
Taking into account that most phones are essentially a computer in your pocket, the used prices should reflect upon the age of the tech, total use time and who the owner was.
In the IT industry, hardware drops in value quite rapidly due to new gear coming out.
If the handset is a current model of it's class, then expect a premium price.
As for iDrones, they are like the fashion industry, you pay for a label and a social status as an iPhollower.
/Rant over
Crikey

If that makes no sense to you go take a look what people are paying for "used" Iphones.

for what its worth, used galaxy ace's were been sold for more then I paid for mine brand new.
from what I can see on ebay people usually only take 10-20% of the price of a new phone unless there is obvious damage. if you find a retail phone with a discount it will be less than used on ebay.

Most people charge too much for their used phones yet people due to contract issues buy them^^

My personal experience is that if you try to find a used phone on the E bay the price has no sense, but if you look in a local site of vacancies you can find good occasions, expecially if you make an offer that is lower of the asked price.

heres how i got my amaze, i bought it broken. honestly, as long as it turns on, im happy, i do customer service for t-mobile but i have at&t only because i have been with them since they were cingular. anyways, dont want to get off topic at hand, i can repair anything. my amaze had went through a joy ride through a dryer. and i still payed 250.00, then i had to get a digitizer/LCD, then a back, then a battery, but i still came out cheaper then retail price. i get laughed at on the smoke deck at work because of my phone but as the month went on it got nicer and nicer then a new trainee said when did you get your new phone? lol i build it...really. i got my inspire with a cracked screen the only phone i have that NOT damaged is my infuse lol

shattered my S4 screen

basically as the title says... I dropped my phone and shattered the screen at the top and bottom corners... it's still operable at the moment but it'll get worse over time. I have an upgrade available on my account that I can use or I could enter the Verizon edge program... I really don't know what i should do. it's obvious the edge program is only useful if I upgrade every ~12 months and I have a tendency to switch phones quite often but with a newborn son I may lose interest in upgrading/getting new phones so much... I'm mostly looking at the HTC M8 only because ive had the galaxy for a while and im ready for something other than touchwiz. use upgrade, pay 250 and sign another 2 year contract or enter Verizon edge program and pay nothing now and be able to upgrade again in a year... opinions?

Edge is regarded by most as a waste of money. you're always going to pay at least half of full retail, which is always more than the 2 yr contract price.
but more importantly, think about this: Maybe Edge is exactly what you want. Maybe you'll do it for the next 5 years and go thru 5 awesome phones. and then maybe then you'll want to save money and switch to another carrier. Hey, you're not on contract. go ahead. but if you get a high end device that's $700 full, and it's been 1 year, you've paid $350 so far, and you're still gonna owe $350 to cut loose, where as if you went the 2 year contract, you maybe for the phone paid $99 (instead of $350 over 12 months), and the ETF with Verizon will only be $230 so basically, you save, after the ETF, around $370. So Edge is great... for people who plan to keep doing edge/jump/whatever every year until they die, never changing carriers. Oh, and if a carrier (Tmobile) offers to buy out your contract and pay your ETF, guess what? an installment plan is not a termination fee. you're on your own, buddy. I'm not trying to sound overly dramatic, but that's the math, man.
finally, Edge is NOT "pay nothing up front". you pay tax on the full price, and you pay the first month's payment up front as well. since you're always billed one month in advance with Verizon, if you didn't pay the first month in store, you next bill would be 2 months worth of payments. Carriers take the first month up front to prevent bill-shock
so that's my feelings towards edge (I used to work in the Cell industry. quit late last year.). As for the M8, this phone rules. why? there's 1000 reviews already out there, so I'm not gonna bother with the why.

Well said .. covers everything.

TidusWulf said:
Edge is regarded by most as a waste of money. you're always going to pay at least half of full retail, which is always more than the 2 yr contract price.
but more importantly, think about this: Maybe Edge is exactly what you want. Maybe you'll do it for the next 5 years and go thru 5 awesome phones. and then maybe then you'll want to save money and switch to another carrier. Hey, you're not on contract. go ahead. but if you get a high end device that's $700 full, and it's been 1 year, you've paid $350 so far, and you're still gonna owe $350 to cut loose, where as if you went the 2 year contract, you maybe for the phone paid $99 (instead of $350 over 12 months), and the ETF with Verizon will only be $230 so basically, you save, after the ETF, around $370. So Edge is great... for people who plan to keep doing edge/jump/whatever every year until they die, never changing carriers. Oh, and if a carrier (Tmobile) offers to buy out your contract and pay your ETF, guess what? an installment plan is not a termination fee. you're on your own, buddy. I'm not trying to sound overly dramatic, but that's the math, man.
finally, Edge is NOT "pay nothing up front". you pay tax on the full price, and you pay the first month's payment up front as well. since you're always billed one month in advance with Verizon, if you didn't pay the first month in store, you next bill would be 2 months worth of payments. Carriers take the first month up front to prevent bill-shock
so that's my feelings towards edge (I used to work in the Cell industry. quit late last year.). As for the M8, this phone rules. why? there's 1000 reviews already out there, so I'm not gonna bother with the why.
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soooooo..... get the m8 but use my available upgrade? lol...

I couldn't be happier with my m8.. I had the s4 previously the only down side is cropping photos with this camera it can be pixely. If you do get the m8 I recommend that you really look at where the speaker grill on top and bottom meet the screen. make sure it's flush this may be just me being picky but I have seen a few that were slightly raised above the screen and it kind of sticks out. Play some music and make sure the sound isn't distorted at a higher volume. I had a couple friends that noticed some static but had to make the trip back for an exchange. There are a number of threads about build quality you can read. sorry to hear your screen shattered on your s4.

Don't know where you get $250 from (unless you're not up for a new device), the M8 is $99 with 2 year contract.

TidusWulf said:
Edge is regarded by most as a waste of money. you're always going to pay at least half of full retail, which is always more than the 2 yr contract price.
but more importantly, think about this: Maybe Edge is exactly what you want. Maybe you'll do it for the next 5 years and go thru 5 awesome phones. and then maybe then you'll want to save money and switch to another carrier. Hey, you're not on contract. go ahead. but if you get a high end device that's $700 full, and it's been 1 year, you've paid $350 so far, and you're still gonna owe $350 to cut loose, where as if you went the 2 year contract, you maybe for the phone paid $99 (instead of $350 over 12 months), and the ETF with Verizon will only be $230 so basically, you save, after the ETF, around $370. So Edge is great... for people who plan to keep doing edge/jump/whatever every year until they die, never changing carriers. Oh, and if a carrier (Tmobile) offers to buy out your contract and pay your ETF, guess what? an installment plan is not a termination fee. you're on your own, buddy. I'm not trying to sound overly dramatic, but that's the math, man.
finally, Edge is NOT "pay nothing up front". you pay tax on the full price, and you pay the first month's payment up front as well. since you're always billed one month in advance with Verizon, if you didn't pay the first month in store, you next bill would be 2 months worth of payments. Carriers take the first month up front to prevent bill-shock
so that's my feelings towards edge (I used to work in the Cell industry. quit late last year.). As for the M8, this phone rules. why? there's 1000 reviews already out there, so I'm not gonna bother with the why.
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Click to collapse
I don't know where you get that he is going to pay $350 for the phone on edge the first year.
I just got on the early edge upgrade and they offer a $10/month discount off of the $25/month price.(That is for the 3 gig plan. Discount is steeper on higher data plans) So I am paying $15/month for my M8. I will have paid $180 for the first year. And then I can get a new phone.
BB has them for $199 on 2 year contract.
I know some think I am wasting my money with edge, but I will be able to get a new phone in a year.
Tell me how you can do that cheaper by buying?

85gallon said:
I don't know where you get that he is going to pay $350 for the phone on edge the first year.
I just got on the early edge upgrade and they offer a $10/month discount off of the $25/month price.(That is for the 3 gig plan. Discount is steeper on higher data plans) So I am paying $15/month for my M8. I will have paid $180 for the first year. And then I can get a new phone.
BB has them for $199 on 2 year contract.
I know some think I am wasting my money with edge, but I will be able to get a new phone in a year.
Tell me how you can do that cheaper by buying?
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I'm not disagreeing with you, as EDGE is fine for people who upgrade a lot, and really isn't really that much of a waste of money as some make it seem, but I wouldn't say you are paying $15/mo for the M8. It's more like you're paying $25/mo for it, but you get $10 off per month from the bill itself.
Just taking in to account that they discount your bill by ~$10 (depending on data, again) even on More Everything plans, they're just trying to compensate for the fact that you are not in a contract, and thus, no subsidy.
I'm sure some reps are just saying, "and you get $10 off the monthly payment for being on EDGE" to entice people to sign up. If you were really paying $15/mo, it would take longer for you to pay off the phone... of course, I could be completely wrong, as I don't see the bill in front of me to see the break down, but that's just what I assume the breakdown is.
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I feel like with EDGE it's almost a wash when comparing it with a 2-Year contract, though you can come out slightly ahead with a contract. If you upgrade a lot, and assuming a single line, then you can get a "cheap" phone for the first year, the sell it for ~ $250-300 (or more, depending on device of course), then the next flagship you pick up second hand from someone (saving tax at least). If you keep reselling in $300 range, it's almost the same thing as EDGE (paying off half to "edge up"). With EDGE, however, you save yourself the hassle of re-selling/shipping/etc.

brandogg said:
Don't know where you get $250 from (unless you're not up for a new device), the M8 is $99 with 2 year contract.
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Just saw this on the Verizon site. The store I went to last night while working had a 250 price tag.
I'm still not sure what to do lol... I feel like if I really like a phone and I'm not ready to get rid of it after 12 months and keep it then I'm throwing money away...
The Verizon variant is completely unlockable right? Is there any ota upgrade I should avoid out of the box if I decide to get it?
Sent from my SCH-I545 using XDA Free mobile app

I wasn't aware of the $10 EDGE plan discount. I left before that started, I guess.
As for where to buy the phone, Amazon or Costco are generally the best prices, but sometimes bestbuy has a good sale going on. ($100 blue M7 the day it was released), I would never buy a phone from Verizon's corporate store or website.
The Verizon phone is unlocked by default. there is nothing the user needs to do. it's Verizon policy (yay!). As for the OTA upgrade, I'm pretty sure it doesn't matter, from what I've read, but I would just root the phone and flash the rooted update, anyway, to be safe.

TidusWulf said:
I wasn't aware of the $10 EDGE plan discount. I left before that started, I guess.
As for where to buy the phone, Amazon or Costco are generally the best prices, but sometimes bestbuy has a good sale going on. ($100 blue M7 the day it was released), I would never buy a phone from Verizon's corporate store or website.
The Verizon phone is unlocked by default. there is nothing the user needs to do. it's Verizon policy (yay!). As for the OTA upgrade, I'm pretty sure it doesn't matter, from what I've read, but I would just root the phone and flash the rooted update, anyway, to be safe.
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Since when does Verizon release a phone unlocked from factory?! That's shocking. ??
Sent from my SCH-I545 using XDA Free mobile app

Powell730 said:
Just saw this on the Verizon site. The store I went to last night while working had a 250 price tag.
I'm still not sure what to do lol... I feel like if I really like a phone and I'm not ready to get rid of it after 12 months and keep it then I'm throwing money away...
The Verizon variant is completely unlockable right? Is there any ota upgrade I should avoid out of the box if I decide to get it?
Sent from my SCH-I545 using XDA Free mobile app
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Click to collapse
I think the M8 should be good for a long time, as most devices are, we just tend to want to upgrade/switch devices when the new one comes out =\
If you don't want to use up the upgrade, have you tried looking on Swappa for a used device?
** Factory unlock meaning for the SIM, you will still need to root and S-OFF on your own. Just to clarify haha

Powell730 said:
Since when does Verizon release a phone unlocked from factory?! That's shocking. ??
Sent from my SCH-I545 using XDA Free mobile app
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All Verizon LTE phones are factory unlocked when you buy them. Been this way for a couple of years.

about 2 years, now. I think Verizon had to hit a certain population coverage percentage for LTE and it became mandatory by some FCC rule when they purchased the spectrum. sad that other carriers aren't also tied to this.

raichur0xx0rz said:
I think the M8 should be good for a long time, as most devices are, we just tend to want to upgrade/switch devices when the new one comes out =\
If you don't want to use up the upgrade, have you tried looking on Swappa for a used device?
** Factory unlock meaning for the SIM, you will still need to root and S-OFF on your own. Just to clarify haha
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Click to collapse
Ohh. Yeah I was referring to the bootloader not sim lol. I actually looked at swappA last night. Good deals but I'd rather use the upgrade as opposed to that site. I really just need to decide if I want to keep the phone for two years or buy it with the intent to upgrade again in ~1 year.
Sent from my SCH-I545 using XDA Free mobile app

i believe amazon has it for 99 with 2 year, and OTA is safe, i temprooted -> soff'd; took OTA then xposed/customized.
as for swappa, site is completely legit, have bought and sold on there. just read descriptions/pics and know what you are getting.